Earlier within the day Catalonia’s parliament voted to establish an independent republic.

“The Catalan parliament has approved something that will within the opinion of the great majority of people doesn’t just go against the law, however is usually a criminal act,” Rajoy said after the vote, according to the Financial Times. “the idea supposes declaring something that will is usually not possible,” he said.

In a Twitter post, the prime minister called for calm.

“The rule of law will restore legality in Catalonia,” he wrote.

Rajoy Tweet

Second Tweet

Rajoy said that will elections will be held in Catalonia in December, according to Reuters.

Spain’s IBEX closed the Friday trading session down about 1 percent with Spanish banks leading the losses.

At 3:39 p.m. ET the euro had dipped to $1.1601 along with was about 0.42 percent lower for the session.

Correction: This particular story has been revised to reflect the correct exchange rate for the euro.